Friday, June 24, 2011

Several months ago I was approached by a lovely young lady, Jennifer, who needed a very special and unique outfit for her beach wedding.

She wanted something very non-traditional, very beachy. At our first meeting, she explained to me her wants and needs, and I drew out on paper what I envisioned for her. In all humbleness, that seems to be a gift of mine - to be able to envision what is descibed to me.

Several fittings later, and after several alterations, she took her beach ensemble home.

Today I received pictures from her of the beach wedding which occurred a couple weeks ago. She looks lovely! In her letter, she told me she got lots of compliments on her outfit, and was thrilled with it!

I live to serve - and I really love it when my brides are this happy!!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

When the bride first brought this gown to me, I was rather unimpressed. It was obviously old, certainly considered an antique. I would venture to guess that it was perhaps made in the late 40's, early 50's. I've not been able to find out any information from the label.

But, I digress. . . .

As mentioned, I didn't see the beauty in this dress when I first saw it. We discussed what she wanted/needed done. The basque waistline needed to be moved up 2 inches. It needed taking in several inches. Some boning was needed for support, as well as cups. A hem would be discussed at a later visit.

So, I took it home and promptly forgot about it until it's scheduled work day showed up on my calendar.
I took it out of the bag and put it on my dress form to look at more closely.

As you can see, the bodice is done with tiny half inch diagonal pleating. The skirt, at first glance, looks like it is formed of narrow bands of ruffles. Upon closer look, it is actually many, many pick - ups.

As I started to remove stitching at the back of the dress (at the zipper), I had a slow realization that I was being awarded the priveledge of working on a gown made in true couture fashion.

So much hand stitching!

Here, you can see some of the stitching around the zipper.It was hand stitched in 2 places before being machine sewn. The zipper facing was overcast by hand and then hand sewn to the underlining.

Here is the thread covered 'eye' for the hook at the back. When do you ever see that in clothing these days?

Each of these pleats was hand sewn to the backing fabric.

As I work on this gown, I am seeing the beauty in it. It is a style from an era long gone. Each stitch was sewn with such precision and care. Little details in the construction are so much different from what I have learned. I find I have much to learn from working on this lovely gown. I wish I could find some information from the label -

I will continue to search, as I continue to work on this unique gown. I will post more photos as I go. Perhaps you will be as intrigued as I am by the construction of it.

About Me

I am a very happily married wife (35 Years - thankyou very much!), and mother of 3 grown children.

I started my alterations business in 2006; and I have worked very hard to make it into a growning business, where I now, also, do personally designed and created gowns and dresses for ladies. The running of my business consumes my every waking minute at this time in my life. Hobbies are put on the far back burner. They used to be gardening, reading, some cross-stiching and knitting.' Now I design, create and sew. I take measurements, do fittings, rip seams, and sew. When I sleep, I design, then I wake up and 'pre-create' on paper, before I create with fabric. When not working in my sewing studio, I am working on marketing in some form or another. I strive to constantly improve my skills by challenging myself often. I enjoy learning new sewing skills and techniques and consider myself advanced in my abilities. That being said, I believe there is always room to improve ones self! Though I believe the term 'couture' is much over-used in the states today, I do consider myself a couture seamstress.